About me

Delivered on the steps at the lincoln memorial in washingtond.c. on august 28, 1963five score years ago, a great american, in whose symbolic shadowwe stand signed the emancipation proclamation. This momentousdecree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of negroslaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice.it came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night ofcaptivity.but one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact thatthe negro is still not free. one hundred years later, the lifeof the negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles ofsegregation and the chains of discrimination. one hundred yearslater, the negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in themidst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. one hundred yearslater, the negro is still languishing in the corners of americansociety and finds himself an exile in his own land. so we havecome here today to dramatize an appalling condition.in a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check.when the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent wordsof the constitution and the declaration of independence, theywere signing a promissory note to which every american was tofall heir. this note was a promise that all men would beguarranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and thepursuit of happiness.it is obvious today that america has defaulted on thispromissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned.instead of honoring this sacred obligation, america has giventhe negro people a bad check which has come back markedinsufficient funds.justice is bankrupt. we refuse to believe that there areinsufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of thisnation. so we have come to cash this check -- a check that willgive us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security ofjustice. we have also come to this hallowed spot to remindamerica of the fierce urgency of now. this is no time to engagein the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drugof gradualism. now is the time to rise from the dark anddesolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racialjustice. now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to allof god's children. now is the time to lift our nation from thequicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock ofbrotherhood.it would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of themoment and to underestimate the determination of the negro. thissweltering summer of the negro's legitimate discontent will notpass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom andequality. nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning.those who hope that the negro needed to blow off steam and willnow be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returnsto business as usual. there will be neither rest nor tranquilityin america until the negro is granted his citizenship rights.the whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundationsof our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.but there is something that i must say to my people who stand onthe warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. inthe process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guiltyof wrongful deeds. let us not seek to satisfy our thirst forfreedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.we must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane ofdignity and discipline.